Not exactly reality
by Suskiv
Summary: The writer wakes up on DS9


DISCLAIMER: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a registered trademark of Paramount  
Pictures. Paramount owns the rights to Star Trek and all its characters. No  
infringement on that copyright is intended. The story, such as it is, is  
copyright to Susanna Kivela 2002  
  
Challenge from Jen:  
Write a Mary Sue in which you are on DS9 but as YOU!  
And it has to be realistic. No wild sex, no instant status.  
What would REALLY happen if you REALLY met Garak? How much of an ass would  
you look like?  
  
Well resistance was futile - here it is...  
  
Not exactly reality.  
By: Susanna Kivela   
  
I woke up in the dark room. *Typical you have a wonderful dream and the alarm  
clock has to wake you up.* Suddenly I realized that there were no alarm. Oh,  
great I woke up to early. I turn to the left to grab the clock. My hand takes  
a grip in thin air. The clock was missing. Come to think about it, the bedside  
table was missing too. I started to look for my bedside lamp. Touching the  
wall above my head. The wall felt strange and I couldn't find the lamp.  
  
"Were the heck is the light... switch!"  
  
Suddenly the room was illuminated. The sudden light blinded me for a moment.  
When I got my eyesight back I gazed around - the room was definitely not mine.  
  
I was sitting on a narrow bed - it was quite uncomfortable actually. The  
architecture was alien and the most strange thing was the large oval window.  
Still, there was something familiar with the room. I have seen it before. And  
then I realized it. The room was a part of the dream I just had a minute ago.  
It was impossible, but I was in one of DS9's quarters. *Yeah, right...* I told  
myself. *This is just an other dream.* I must have been up late reading those  
stories again and it must have triggered a very intense dream.  
  
"Ouch!" I pinched my arm to wake me up, but the room was still here.   
  
OK, I didn't still believe it's reality, but I have never felt pain in my  
dreams before. Maybe - how ridicules it may have sounded - I really was on   
DS9. In that case I have to find out how I got here i how to get back home.   
  
I could never use my head in the morning, at least not before I had my first  
mug of coffee. I got up from the bed and walked those few steps to the  
replicator. I was just about to order some coffee, when i decided to try  
Raktajino I have always wondered how it tasted. The replicator whirred into  
life and a few seconds later it had produced the Klingon beverage. I grabbed  
the mug. It wasn't exactly as I had imagined. It was a little to bitter for my  
taste, but definitely enough to jump-start me into action.   
  
With the whole of DS9 to explore it seemed a little foolish to stay in these  
quarters all day so I started to look for some clothes and I found my jeans  
and sweater. I was hardly going to blend in dressed like this. A sudden,  
delicious thought occurred to me. *What a perfect excuse to seek out Garak's  
shop!* I grabbed the clothes and went to the bathroom. *Oh so this is how the  
restrooms looks like.* The thought went through my head while undressing.  
After using the sonic-shower I understood why everyone preferred water-  
showers.   
  
A few minutes later I was dressed. I stepped outside the quarters and started  
to walk. After a few minutes I realized I was lost. I have been here many  
times in dreams, but in reality the station was huge and all the corridors  
looked alike. I stopped at a junction and wondered were to go when I noticed  
the door to my left. It was difference from the others. It was the turbo-lift.  
I stepped forward and the doors opened.   
  
"Eh... Promenade please." It felt strange talking in to thin air.   
  
The doors closed and the lift started to move.  
  
* * *  
  
A moment later the lift stooped and the doors opened. I stepped out. The  
Promenade was filled with all kind of people. Wide-eyed I looked around me. I  
had never realized how much people there actually was on DS9. Locating Garak's  
shop would maybe not be as easy as thought. The good thing was that nobody  
seemed to notice the fact that I wasn't probably dressed.  
  
A flashing sign caught my attention and I realized it must be Quark's. Maybe I  
could drop by later. My gaze traveled across the expanse of the Promenade. If  
the bar was _there_ the door just across the way must lead to the Infirmary...  
I was tempted. There was no denying that, but I had to get new clothes. It had  
just been pure luck that no one had noticed my strange clothing yet. My memory  
provided me with a rough idea of where the tailor's shop should be and I  
headed quickly in that direction, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.  
  
Finding the shop wasn't easy. I had been walking past numerous of shops and  
there was no sign of Garak's. *Where is the damn shop?* I cursed to myself.   
  
*Finally!* I found a shop-window filled with an elegant display of clothing.  
Well, here I was... My heart was hammering in my chest and I realized I was  
nervous. *You're only going in there to get some clothes,* I told myself  
sternly. *Like hell you are!* muttered another insubordinate part of my brain.  
*You're here because you want to know just what those ridges look like in  
close - very close...*  
  
"Shut up!" I forced myself to take the few steps that would carry me across  
the threshold of the shop. It was quiet inside after the bustle of the  
Promenade and the owner was not in sight. I let out the breath I had been  
holding and began to look around the racks and displays. I didn't want  
anything fancy just...   
  
"Can I help you, madam?" The voice behind me made my knees go weak in an  
instant. I would have recognized that voice anywhere. At the moment it was   
professionally warm and inquiring - and it needed to be replied to. I turned   
slowly, shaking a little despite my best efforts to remain calm and collected.  
My composure nearly shattered completely as I found myself confronted in real   
life with the most piercing set of blue eyes I had ever seen. The TV did them   
no justice, I decided at once and nor did my writing.   
  
"I..." To my abiding shame my voice came out as a nervous squeak. *Get a hold   
of yourself. Where is that self-confident woman you used to be?* I cleared my   
throat hurriedly, intensely aware of the look of amusement that had crossed   
Garak's face at my first attempt to speak. "Yes please," I managed say, "I  
need some new clothes."   
  
Garak's gaze swept my appraisingly from head to toe. The warmth and intensity   
of his regard made me feel faint. One gray hand reached out and touched the   
material of my sweater curiously, testing the texture between thumb and   
forefinger.   
  
"I think perhaps you do," he agreed. "I've never seen cloth - or clothing -   
like this before and it does you no justice, my dear. I believe this would be   
far more appropriate." Garak moved to one of his display racks and pulled out   
an elegant looking suit. He held it up against my body and nodded approvingly.  
"Oh yes, the color is definitely you."   
  
"T... Thank... you," I stammered, "but I don't think the fit is going to be  
right."  
  
"That's easily corrected, my dear," soothed Garak. "Please take it through to   
the fitting room and change into it. Here, take this to go underneath the   
jacket." He selected a shirt of some silky material and handed it over to me   
together with the suit. I held the bundle of clothing, but didn't move. Garak   
smiled at me encouragingly, making shooing motions with his broad hands. "Go  
on now, I'll be through in just a moment. I have to bring my tailoring tools  
to do the fitting."   
  
There was really nothing else for me to do but to make my way into the small  
fitting room. I cursed myself silently for behaving like such an idiot. *Why   
was it so easy to bee cool and sophisticated in every situation, but this?*   
I'd always dreamed of impressing Garak with my wit and charm and now he   
probably thought I was a complete imbecile. But whatever he might think of me,  
in just a moment he was going to be joining me in this small cubicle! With   
trembling fingers I removed my own familiar clothes and changed into the new   
outfit.   
  
When I looked at myself in the mirror I had to admit Garak had been right. It   
did suit me. However the trousers didn't fit properly - they were too long and  
a little baggy. Also the jacket was too big across the shoulders to hang quite  
right. I was still surveying myself when Garak pushed the curtain aside and   
joined me. He smiled widely when he saw me in my new finery.  
  
"Ah yes, an excellent choice - if I do say so myself," he approved. His head  
tilted to one side slightly as he considered the adjustments he needed to   
make. I gritted my teeth as the intense scrutiny began to make my blood heat.   
All at once Garak moved behind me, out of my line of sight, and my nervousness  
increased. When his hands came to rest lightly on my shoulders, smoothing the   
fabric carefully, I felt as if I would melt under the gentle contact.   
  
I don't know if he noticed my reaction though he gave no sign and simply began  
his measuring and adjusting. He made small sounds, almost as if he were   
talking to himself, as he worked. With absolute certainty I knew I was on the   
verge of making a few sounds of my own if Garak didn't stop touching me soon -  
probably moans and sighs! Damn it, I had been dreaming and writing about this   
man, this Cardassian, for so long and now here he was - real, tangible. His   
faintly spicy scent filled my nostrils and the warmth from his hands bled   
through the cloth draping my body and heated my skin. In utter embarrassment I  
knew I was becoming aroused.   
  
Garak chose that moment to began talking as he worked, apparently completely   
oblivious to the havoc he was wreaking on my senses.   
  
"Tell me, where are you from, my dear? I don't believe I've seen you on the   
station before. And forgive me, but your clothes are - unusual." I froze. What  
should I say. The truth was out of the question - hell I didn't even know what  
the truth was. What was it Garak said. *The truth is just an excuse for lack  
of imagination. *Well if there is something I had, it is a great imagination -  
sadly it seems to have vanished for the moment.  
  
"Um, oh, well... I'm from Earth actually," I stammered. That was true enough   
anyway. "I just arrived on the station today."  
  
"Earth?" queried Garak. His voice sounded doubtful. "That's strange. I don't   
recall any transports arriving from there today - or for the past several days  
in fact." He moved back around until he stood facing me. The change in   
position made it still harder for me to hide the effect he was having on me.   
  
"I... changed ships several times getting here," I improvised. Garak's eyes  
showed clearly enough that he wasn't buying it. *Damn, how do I get myself out  
of this?*  
  
"I believe there may be more to your story than meets the eye, my dear..." he   
surmised. Garak's blue gaze fixed on me intently and I flushed even redder   
than I had from just his touch. I tried to avoid the piercing stare before he   
guessed the state I was in, but too late. He's eyes widened as he suddenly   
recognized the signs - the heated flush, the expression on my face... I knew   
the moment he realized and looked down, embarrassed.   
  
"My dear..." he murmured softly, stepping closer. "Who are you? Why are you   
here?" The tone of his voice made me look up again. His eyes were mere inches   
from my own and they had a hypnotizing effect on me. I stared, mouth open, but  
quite unable to speak at that moment. "Ah, a woman of mystery then," he   
concluded. "I enjoy a good mystery..."   
  
*Hey, that's my line!* That was the reason I fell i love with Garak - the fact  
that he was a mystery. I saw how he gazed at me and I realized I had to say  
something.   
  
"I - would tell you," I managed at last, "but I don't know why I'm here." How   
could I lie with those wonderful eyes so close, boring into me? And yet the   
simple truth itself sounded like an evasion. Garak's expression was abruptly   
skeptical as he pulled away from me. "No, Garak..." I finally brought myself   
to say his name. If he was surprised that a newcomer to the station would use   
his name thus, without any title, he didn't show it. "I mean it. It's - a long  
story."   
  
"I have time," Garak replied equably. Coolly he dropped to his knees and began  
to work on fitting my trousers. His gray hands were knowledgeable as they   
moved over my hips, down my thighs... To a casual observer he might appear to   
simply be conducting a normal fitting, but there was no doubt he now knew   
exactly what else he was doing. And my body wasn't late in responding.  
  
I didn't know what to do or say. This was _Garak_ on his knees at my feet,  
touching me and arousing me. My capacity for coherent speech was distinctly  
limited at the moment, but I knew I had to say something. Yet how could I tell  
someone so manifestly real and alive that he didn't really exist - except as a  
product of someone's imagination? Was that the truth here and now? I was by no  
means certain of that anymore.  
  
"I... I don't come from - here," I began slowly. "In all honesty I have no   
idea how I got here. I just - woke up in a quarter here on DS9." It sounded   
lame even to my own ears. "I have always wanted to come here though," I added.   
  
"Oh?" Garak looked up at me, all pretense of continuing the fitting was gone.   
  
"I - wanted to meet you," I admitted, "and - Doctor Bashir."  
  
"Julian? You know of him too?" Garak climbed to his feet pressing me back   
against the fitting room wall. I could feel the warmth from his body.   
The doubt was back in his eyes. "How? You say you have only just arrived and   
yet you know us. Who, or perhaps I should say what, are you? Are you a   
Changeling?"   
  
*What!* "No!" I protested, shuddering as Garak's body came into contact with   
my own along its entire length.  
  
"No," he agreed slowly. "I don't believe my closeness would so discomfit a  
Changeling, but you..." Unexpectedly Garak dipped his head and captured my   
mouth in a skillful, probing kiss. I closed my eyes and my knees began to   
buckle. He's strong hands caught me against him before I could fall. "Is this  
what you came for, my dear?" he purred.   
  
"Yes!" I moaned helplessly. To say anything else would have been a transparent  
lie. Garak's eyes were luminous, but still calculating as he moved to a wall  
panel, still holding me upright at his side. He pressed a sequence of buttons  
which locked the outer door of the shop and activated the closed sign...  
  
I still didn't know how I got here, but I hoped I would be able to stay for a  
while...   
  
THE END 


End file.
